Liquid level controlling device for envelope moistening devices



C. D. RYAN LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR Dec. 10, 1946.

ENVELOPE MOISTENING DEVICES Original Filed April 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Commodore 17. Ryan BY 7 Dec. 10, 1946.

c. D. RYAN 2,412,538

LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR ENVELOPE MOISTENING DEVICES Original Filed April 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 az n mwl:

INVENTOR Commodore 13. R an 1946. c. D. RYAN 2,412,538

LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR ENVELOPE MOISTENING DEVICES Original Filed April 29, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 0 MW m 9 4 m W BL Jr. l/W/ e S 3 N .f a w M M" 4 mm ,m w W N I j I ll m %A I Patented Dec. 10, 1946 LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR ENVELOPE MOISTENING DEVICES Commodore D. Ryan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Commercial Controls Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application April 29, 1940, Serial No. 332,305. Divided and this application June 12, 1942, Serial No. 446,755

8 Claims.

This invention relates to app r for pplying liquid to and for controlling the liquid level in a moistening device adapted for use in a mail treating machine or the like.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide liquid supply and level control apparatus characterized by simplicity, durability and efficient operation, Another object is to provide apparatus of the above nature capable of supplying liquid to the moistening device of a mail treating machine or the like to prime the moistening device upon the machines being placed in operation. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above nature capable of selectively and variably controlling the hydrostatic head in such a moistening device. Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

This application is a division of Sager et a1, Serial No. 332,305, filed April 29, 1940, which has matured into Patent Number 2,371,070, issued March 6, 1945.

In the drawings, wherein there is shown one form of my invention,

Figure l is a perspective view of a mail treating machine having incorporated therein my liquid level control apparatus;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmental partially sectional elevation of the liquid supply and liquid level controlling apparatus;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view of the moistening device and its connection with the'liquid supply system;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view of the control cam for raising and lowering the liquid supply bottle, and is taken substantially along line'5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially along line 6 of Figure 2;

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 5, but showin the water supply bottle elevated by its lifting cam to an elevation sufficiently high to cause the water to "flow through the moistening device to prime the moistening device for its normal operation;

Figure 8 .is a view siniilarto Figurefi but showing the switch in'its on position;

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view showing the lower portion of Figures 5 and '7 to illustrate the water supply bottle elevating cam during the return from the priming position 'illustrated in Figure 7 to its normal operating position illustrated in Figure 10, and to show the manner in which the carry-over pawl carries the cam roller over the two uppermost notches of the cam;

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9, with the exception that the bottle elevating cam roller is shown resting in the second notch oi the cam which represents the normal operating level for the water'supply bottle; and,

Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along the line Il-'ll of Figure 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the various views of the drawmgs.

Referring first to Figure '1, I have shown a mail treating machine, such as described in detail in the above-noted Sager et al. application, the machine comprising the following major elements and instrumentalities which-for convenience, will be identified by the general reference numbers preceding such elements and instrumentalities:

lFrame structure l5 l-Feeding hopper l 52Stripper l53--Conveyor feeding system for the mail matter I rid-Envelope flap moistening device l55-Power plant and driving mechanism |56Tape feeding device IEl-Meter l58--Ink feeding mechanismfor the meter The envelope flap moistening device 154 is supplied with water from a bottle generally indicated at 436, the elevation'of which may be variably controlled so as to control the hydrostatic head in the moistening device, all as will bedescribed in detail hereinbelow.

The constant level water supply device 436 (Figures 2, 5 and 7) may include cup 431 into which the neck of the water bottle 438 is positioned until the shoulder portion of the bottle engages the resilient pads 439 carried by two of the bottle supporting brackets 440 and MI (Figure 2). The water bottle ispreferably rectangular in cross-section and cup '43! is substantially square in cross-sectionand each side of the cup is provided with bottle supporting brackets two of which, namely brackets 44.0 and Leach previously described, are mounted upon two opposite side faces of the cup. The bracket Ml ex- 3 tends outwardly and upwardly and carries a resilient pad 442 for engaging one side face of the water bottle. The other bracket 445 is provided with a spring finger 443 extending outwardly and upwardly to engage the opposite side face of the water bottle and to yieldingly maintain the bottle against pad 442 of bracket 44!. The two opposite side faces of the cu are provided with. brackets 444 which likewise extend outwardly and upwardly and are provided with resilient pads 445 for engaging and supporting the opposite side faces of the water bottle. The water bottle is provided with a check valve in the form of a rubber ball 446. The check Valve is for the purpose of sealing the outlet of the bottle when the latter is filled with water and inverted during the placing of the bottle in position on the cup member 431. It also prevents such water as remains in the bottle from pouring out into the cup when the bottle is removed for refilling. The cup is provided with a central boss 441 having lug 448 which extends upwardly into the neck of the bottle to lift the check valve ball from sealing engagement with the neck of the. bottle.

In this inverted bottle type of feed the water level in the cup is maintained substantially in the plane of the mouth of said bottle and as the water is drawn from the cup and the level drops below the mouth of the bottle, air will pass into said bottle enabling water from the bottle to flow into the cup raising the water level therein until the neck of the bottle is again sealed, thus preventing additional air from entering the bottle and consequently preventing a further flow of water therefrom. Due to this arrangement the water level in the cup may be constantly maintained at substantially the same level and this device forms what is referred to in this specification as the constant level fluid or wate supply device and bears the general reference character 436.

The constant level water device 436 is provided with an outlet fitting 449 which in turn is connected to the inlet pipe 4l3 of the moistening device by a suitable hose connection 450 (Figure 3) and is mounted in the frame of the machine in such manner as to permit this constant level water supply device to be elevated or lowered with relation to the position of the moistening device I54. For this purpose the central boss 441 (Figure 5) is drilled as at 45l to receive the upper end of elevating shaft 452 and is securely fastened to said shaft in an adjusted position by means of set screw 453. Due to this adjustable connection formed between cup 431 and the upper end of shaft 452 the cup may be adjusted in its proper operating level with respect to the elevation of the moistening blade. The elevating shaft 452 is slidably mounted in bearing 454 (Figure 2) of bracket 455 which bracket is fastened to the rear face of the intermediate frame plate l6l of the machine frame by screws 456. Screw threaded into bearing 454 is an aligning screw 451, the point of which extends into a longitudinal groove 458 formed in the elevating shaft to prevent turning of said shaft and yet permitting longitudinal movement of the shaft through the bearing. The lower end of the elevating shaft 452 is bifurcated and provided between its bifurcations with a cam roller 459. An elevating cam 460 cooperates with cam roller 459 to raise or lower the elevating shaft 452 in a manner later to be described.

The elevating cam 469 is mounted upon the in- 4 ner end of the control shaft 46l (Figure 2) and the adjacent end of the control shaft is journaled in a suitable bracket 462 extending upwardly from the base portion I59 of the machine frame in the manner shown in Figures 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10. The forward end of controlsha'ft 46| extends through the front frame plate I60 of the machine frame and has mounted thereon control handle 463. The control handle is provided with a pointer 464 (Figure l) for indicating the position of the handle with respect to the indicating buttons 465 which correspond to a series of different operating levels for the fluid supply device 436, and as shown in Figures 1 and 10, the handle is positioned for normal operation of the machine. As shown in Figure 1, an off stop button 466 and an on stop button 461 are provided to stop the control handle at each end of its travel.

Figures 5, '7, 9 and 10 are provided to illustrate the operation of the control means for elevating the constant level water supply device 436. These views are taken from the rear of the machine and the control handle 463 is indicated therein in broken lines. Figure 5 indicates the control handle 463 in its oil position and illustrates the cam roller 459 of the elevating shaft engaging the low portion 468 of the elevating cam 466. In this view it will be noted that the control handle pointer 464 is in engagement with the off stop button 456. It also shows the fluid feed device 436 in its lowest position of adjustment in which position the level of the water in cup 431 is considerably below the moistening blade 389 (Figure 3) and thus shutting off or preventing flow of fluid to the moistening blade.

When the machine is to be placed in operation, control handle 463 will be swung until its pointer 464 engages the on button 461 as shown in broken lines in Fig. '7. In this position the elevating cam 460 has been turned until its priming cam surface 469 has turned under cam roller 459 lifting the constant level water supply device 436 until the fluid level maintained within cup 431 is sufficiently above the level of the fluid passage 39! (Figure 4) formed in the moistening blade 389 to cause the water to flow through the bladein a priming action. This, of course, is not a. normal operating setting of the mechanism, but is provided to prime the moistening blade thereby forcing any air out of the blade which may have been entrapped therein and conditioning the moistening blade for normal operation, thereby insuring the immediate operation of the moistening device upon placing the machine in operation.

From this extreme position of elevation, the constant level water supply device 436 must be returned to a proper feeding level. This i preferably accomplished by the operator releasing the control handle 463 whereupon due to the weight of the fluid feed device 436 acting upon the high portion of the cam, and also due to the unbalanced weight of control handle 463, the control cam will rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. '1 and 9 and thereby presenting an operating portion 410 of the cam to cam roller 459. This operating portion 410 of the cam is provided with a series of detent grooves 411 into any one of which the cam roller 459 may seat. These detent grooves 411 are positioned at progressively greater distances from the center of rotation of the cam whereby if the cam roller 459 is seated in the lower-most of these grooves, the fluid feed device 436 will be positioned at its lowest operating level whileif the cam roller 459 is seated in d theuppermost of these grooves All, the fluid supply device will be lifted to its highest operating level.

This range of operating levels for the fluid feed device may be used to control the amount of fluid delivered to the guinmed portion of the flaps passed across the capillary slot of the moi-stoning blade. the setting of the cam roller in the different detentgrooves ill; thus the operator may know at a glance the position of elevation of the feed water device 433.

It is desirable to provide the elevating cam with acarry-over pawl -1 2 which pawl is pivotally mounted upon the cam, eccentric to the center of rotation of said cam by a suitable pivot pin art. A torsional spring did is provided to act between the carry-over pawl and stop pin 2'55, which stop pinis carried by the cam. The torsional spring actsto yieldingly maintain the pawl against said stop pin. The free end of pawl 4'22 is provided with a detent groove ilt, which is arranged. to receive the cam roller 459 as the control cam turns in a clockwise direction from its priming position as shown in Fig. 7 to its normal operating position as shown in 1G to carry the cam roller across the two highest detent notches and to deliver the cam roller to the second detent notch as shown in Fig. 9.

Because of the eccentric mounting of the carryover pawl 6'52 with respect to the center of rotation of control cam ate, the cam roller 5753 will be releasedlfrom the carry-over pawl as the cam roller enters the second detent notch era. As soon as the carry-over pawl is released, its torsional spring 474 will return the carry-over pawl to its. normal position of rest against stop pin 415 as shown in Fig. 10 and the cam roller 359 will seat in the second detent notch an and prevent further rotation of control cam. 453. This is a normal operating position and is reached automatically upon the release of the control handle by the operator after the pointer of the control handle has engaged the on button 481.

If this normal adjustment shown in Fig. 10 of the control mechanism does not provide sufficient water to the moistening blade, the operator may turn the control cam $68 by means of lever 453 to position the roller in one or the other of the two higher notches thereby elevating the water supply device 236 and providing a greater flow of water to the moistening blade. Should the water supply device furnish too much water for moistening a particular type of mail matter when the cam roller is located in its normal opcrating position, that is, in the second of the detent notches ii i, the operator may swing control cam 360 by means of handle #63 to position the cam roller in the first of the detent notches 11! thereby lowering the level of the water supply device 436'to a minimum operating level.

The carry-over pawl 412 is provided with a cam surface 411 to permit the cam roller 459 to ride over the end of the carry-over pawl when the control cam is rotated from its off to its priming position.

A drainage system is provided for accumulating the priming fluid or any other excess fluid which may drip from the moistening blade as well as for such fluid as may drain from the blade when it is removed for cleaning or other reasons. This drainage system may include a drip pan 478 (Fig. 3) suitably shaped'and formed to=extend under the moistening blade. and its The indicating buttons S 55 correspond to holder.- The'pan isprovided with suitable oil setbrackets (not shown) to mount the pan within the frame of the machine by suitable screws. In Fig. 3, the drip pan is shown extending forwardly a-sufficient distance to receive the fluid draining from the moistening element holder 3% through the drainpassage ifli and at its opposite end, discharging into a drainage trough hi'ihaving a flanged bracket 382 for securing the trough to the rear face of the intermediateframe plate to! by screws 483. The trough l8l extends diagonally rearwardly as shown Fig; 3 and delivers the drainage-fluid into a removable receiving tray (not shown); The receiving tray is removably mounted within the'base of thema-' chine and should be'emptied periodically.

A further feature of this invention resides in arranging the motor switch to-be actuated by the control handle 4&3 in such 'a way that each time the motor switchis actuated to place the machine in operation, the water supply device 436 will be elevated to prime the moistening blade in the manner previously described thereby insuring that the moistening blade'will be in proper operative condition simultaneously with theturning on of the driving motor and the switch is so arranged that-it can be turned off only when the control handle is swung to its off position as shown in Fig. 5. only will the motor be turned off, but simultaneously therewith the water supply device 436- will be returned to its lower-most'position as shown in Fig. 5 to position the water level in said device considerably below the moist'ening blade and to thereby drain the blade. By draining the moistening blade in this manner, it will greatly assist in preventing it from becoming clogged with foreign matter.

To actuate the main motor switch 485 from control shaft 461, the shaft is provided with a pair of spaced collars 486 and 481 (Fig. 11) pinned to the shaft so as to rotate there with. Between these collars, a switch actuating spool M38 is journaled upon the shaft and carries between its flanges a switch actuating bar 589 having its ends extending beyond each side of the spool flanges. The switch operating lever 499 is provided at its upper end with a bifurcated head fi9l arranged to straddle bar 489 so as to be operated thereby during the rotation of said spool. The switch operating lever extends upwardly from the motor switch 485 which switch is fastened to the base portion I59 of the main frame in the manner shown in Figs. 6, 8 and 11.

The collar 4% is provided with an axially extending stud 492 arranged to engage the switch actuating bar 589 during the rotation of the control handle #63 from its off position as shown in Fig. 5 to its on position as shown in Fig. '7, to rotate the spool from its position as shown in Fig. 6 -to that shown in Fig. 8 whereby the switch actuating bar 489 will engage the bifurcated head dill of switch lever 498 to swing the switch lever to its on position as shown in Fig. 8. Referring to Fig. 6, it will be noted that stud 192 will rotate approximately degrees before engaging the switch actuating bar 489 and thereby requiring the control handle Q63 to be swung into engagement with-the on stop button 467 before the motor switch can be turned on and as previously pointed out, this rotation of the control handle will cause the moistening' blade to be primed. It therefore follows, that eachtime the motor switch is. turned on,=. the

In other words not moistening blade will be primed for operation. The motor switch 485 is of the snap switch type and as a result, as the stud carries the switch actuating bar and switch lever 490 beyond its dead center position, the snap action will carry the lever beyond its center point to its on position moving the spool with its actuating bar ahead of stud 492. This action may be obtained by journaling spool 488 upon shaft 461 and driving it through the engagement of stud 492 with switch actuating bar 489. As 'will be noted in Fig. 8, the stud 493 carried by collar 48'! must be rotated through an arc of more than 90 degrees before it can engage the end of the switch actuating bar 489. This rotation of the control shaft 46! permits the elevating control cam 460 to be returned from its priming position as shown in Fig. 7 past the lower-most of the detent notches 4'il before the switch can be actuated to shut ofi the motor circuit.

In other words, this lost motion connection permits the adjustment of the water supply device 436 to any one of its operating levels without affecting the position of the motor switch. Due to the construction of this control mechanism with its lost motion device, the motor switch cannot be turned off until the water supply means 436 has been lowered to a level below that of the moistening blade and thereby insuring that the water supply will be turned off each time the motor circuit is disconnected.

An important feature of this invention resides in the provision of the above described mechanism whereby through the simple procedure of manipulating the control handle 463 to its oil position, the motor switch will be turned off, the fluid supply to the moistening blade will be shut ofl and the moistening blade will be automatically drained.

It will also be apparent that by turning the control handle to its on position, the moistening device will be properly conditioned for operation simultaneously with the turning on of the motor switch.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid from a constant level fluid supply device of the cup and inverted bottle type to a flap moistening means of an envelope sealing machine including, a constant level fluid supply device, envelope flap moistening means, a conduit connecting said fluid supply and said moistening means, means mounting said constant level fluid supply device for raising and lowering movement, an elevating means operable for raising said device from a shut-off position whereat the fluid level of said device is below the level of said moistening means to a feeding position whereat the fluid level of said device is even with or elevated to a predetermined level above said moistening means, and means releasably holding the elevating means in any one of a plurality of elevated feeding positions.

2. In a mechanism of the character described a constant level fluid supply device of the cup and inverted bottle type, flap moistening means, a conduit connecting said fluid supply and said moistening means, means mounting said constant 8 level fluid supply device for raising and lowering movement, and elevating means operable for raising said device to a flooding level for efiectively priming said flap moistening means while lifting said device from a non-feeding to a feeding level.

3. In a mechanism a constant level fluid supply device of the cup and inverted bottle type, flap moistening means for an envelope sealing machine, a conduit connecting said fluid supply and said moistening means, means mounting said constant level fluid supply device for raising and lowering movement, a cam follower carried thereby, and an elevating cam operatively engaging said follower and having a cam surface including a low level shut-off portion, a section having a plurality of notches representing a selective range of feeding levels for said device into any one of which said cam follower may be seated to maintain said device at a selected feeding level and a high portion for lifting said device to a flooding level for priming said moistening means.

4. In a power driven envelope sealing machine, an envelope flap moistening device, means containing a supply of fluid therefor, means connecting said device and supply for conducting fluid therebetween, a driving motor for said machine, an electric switch for turning on and off said motor, and a control means connected to said fluid supply and to said switch and operable for effecting a flow of fluid from said fluid supply to said device and for actuating said switch to energize said motor when the machine is to be put into operation and operable to eflect the discontinuation of fluid flow from said fluid supply and to turn off said switch when the machine is to be shut down.

5. In a power driven envelope sealing machine an envelope flap moistening device, means containing a supply of fluid arranged to assume a shut-ofi', a priming or a normal condition of fluid feed to said device, a conduit connecting said moistening device and said fluid supply, a driving motor for said machine, an electric switch for controlling the operation of said motor, and a control means connected to said fluid supply and to said switch and operable for conditioning said fluid supply from its shut-off condition through its priming to its normal feeding condition and for actuating said switch for energizing said motor whereby the moistening device will be primed each time the switch is operated to energize the motor.

6. In a power driven envelope sealing machine, an envelope flap moistening device, means containing a supply of fluid arranged to assume a shut-off, a priming or a normal condition of fluid feed to said device, a conduit connecting said moistening device and said fluid supply, a driving motor for said machine, an electric switch for controlling the operation of said motor, and a control means connected to said fluid supply and to said switch and operable for conditioning said fluid supply from its shut-01f through its priming, to its normal condition of feed and for actuating said switch for energizing said motor, whereby the moistening device will be primed each time the switch is operated to energize the motor, and said control means being operable for returning said fluid supply to its shut-off condition and for actuating said switch to open the motor circuit whereby when the motor is shut-off, no fluid can flow to the moistening device.

7. In apparatus of the character described, in

8. Apparatus according to claim '7 wherein said control means includes mechanism for varying the hydraulic head of the fluid for said moistenmg device selectively between points above and below the fluid delivery level of said device, where'- by said device may be primed, shut off or conditioned for fluid delivery at amounts therebetween.

COMMODORE D. RYAN. 

